Nicklas Bäckström is the NHL's foremost Swedish so far in terms of points. He does not deny that there is a certain prestige among the blue and yellows. - Of course you want to be up there, there is nothing to hide under a chair with, says the Swedish world star in an exclusive interview with SVT Sport.

The years go by but one thing remains - Nicklas Bäckström's points and goal fabrication.

Year in and year out, the Washington Swede delivers magic from his center position.

This year he is the best scorer and goal scorer in the Capitals, 29 points in 26 games.

In a league where young players reap successes - such as Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl and Mitch Marner to name a few - Bäckström is constantly at the top.

There are dominant players who have crossed the 30-mark, such as Anze Kopitar and Patrick Kane, but they are vanishingly few and it also shows which names the Swede joins.

"You get annoyed and bite together"

- I was not at all happy with last season.

You get annoyed and bite when you do not get the results legally.

This year, I have therefore decided to focus more, says Bäckström to SVT Sport.

- What you lose in speed you take back in experience and cunning.

You have to be a little smarter and in that way compete with the younger players.

It is, as I said, "a young man's game", so it is important to find ways to keep up.

Bäckström is one of Swedish ice hockey's greatest of all time.

The center has won the Stanley Cup, the World Cup on two occasions and has an Olympic silver on the merit list, which can be made much longer.

He has received a number of individual awards during his career.

A career that is far from over.

"I'm not done"

- I'm not done.

I'm not happy, there is a lot left to strive for both with the national team and with the club team.

When you win, you are eager to win even more.

That's where I am now.

I want to win more, says Bäckström.

This year, he has also continued to reach milestones.

As the first Washington player, he reached and passed the milestone 700 assists.

- Yes, that match and that celebration could have been better.

We codged 5-1 against Boston so you could hardly feel joy

Speaking of Boston, nowadays he is a teammate with a real Boston and NHL icon, the very Slovak Zdeno Chara, who by the way was praised by Boston when the teams met.

- He is a really nice teammate but a player who does everything twice as hard as an ordinary person.

You did not immediately love to meet him as an opponent.

Now it is at least nice in the matches when he is in your own team.

But you do not get a waiver on the training.

Can say that they have not made the protections that alleviate his cross-checks at the trainings yet, says Bäckström and laughs, but suffers inside (red assumption).

- They showed a nice film about his career but I still feel sorry for him.

You want to see such a tribute in connection with a packed arena.

Suffering with Lundqvist

In conclusion, how do you see Henrik Lundqvist's situation and fate with the heart problem?

I really suffer with him.

An athlete of any level strives to end his career on his own terms and I would have given him that.

- He came here to try to win the Stanley Cup.

But who knows, he might come back.

He may be back already this year or next year.

I do not know, he says a little cryptically and concludes, do you know anything?

MORE NHL: William Nylander goal scorer when Toronto wins suddenly (March 12, 2021)

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Bäckström on prestige among Swedes: "Nothing to stick under a chair with"

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